A Goldfish Bowl

This card was a lot of fun to make!

"A Goldfish Bowl"

I started by making a box from white card and cutting the aperture before decorating the front with some wood patterned paper and blue distress inks. Some acetate was sealed behind the aperture and the background sealed in place.

"Fish"

The background actually started out as this inked scene...

"Inked Scene"

I wanted something really colourful, and found this in my "ones I prepared earlier" file lol! Anyway, I used a Sizzix stamp and emboss set over the top of this together with some clear heat-embossing to create the "fronds", and went over the whole thing with darker inks to mimic the bottom of the sea. It was cut down to size to fit the base of the box, and the fish were attached using little strips of acetate and dabs of glossy accents so they wiggle when you move the box.

"Fish!"

Before glueing the lid down, some little drops of glossy accents are added to the acetate and some seed beads and shells glued into the base of the box to look like the bottom of the bowl.

"Shells"

The white box is wrapped in a brown card wrapper decorated with door stamps heat-embossed in gold.

"Happy Birthday"

Warm Autumn Colours - October at Stamping Sensations

Wow, October is here already. What a wonderful warm September we have had here in Northern Ireland, and the trees are looking fantastic in all their Autumn glory, so what better inspiration than nature for this month's theme at Stamping Sensations and we are asking you to produce something with "Warm Autumn Colours". Share your creation on the challenge blog and you have a chance to win a fabulous prize from Imagination Crafts.

For my project this time I chose to make an easel card a la Sue Wilson. You can make the front of the card any size you like (as long as you have an envelope to fit!), and then just adhere an easel stand to the back cut using the Tim Holtz Sizzix Bigz easel die.

 

I started with a piece of faded orange backing paper from DCVW Pumpkin Patch, then overstamped with some of my favourite meadow stamps, colouring some in and creating a leafy frame. Various autumnal shades of archival inks are used to give some depth.

 

The bird is stamped from a Stampers Anonymous Tim Holtz set in archival, and overpainted using watercolour paints. I love the effect you get using this technique, which allows some of the stamp detail to show through the translucent paint. The branch and tree trunk are painted in by hand to match, using the same colours as the bird to tie the scene together.

I matted and layered onto gold and brown cardstock and could have left it like this...

 

... but instead diecut a lot of leaves from Pumpkin Patch patterned paper and used them to decorate the frame giving the feel of a bird peeping through the leaves.

Small frame

This small frame is decorated with diecuts, paper flowers, paperclay embellishments  and texture paste, covered with a couple of coats of good quality gesso, then sprayed with water-based inks to decorate.

 

The inner scene is stamped with a Heartfelt Creations stamp, coloured and set into the matching Chateau Gate die. Bricks are added to the scene by pushing texture paste through a stencil and allowing to dry before inking. I added a thin wash of gesso over the scene to tone it all down to match the frame.

 

Sorry for the washed-out photos. The pictures came out too dark and I tried to rememdy by increasing the brightness. I'm finding photography a bit challenging with the deterioration in my eyesight, I'm not too sure what I've snapped until I see it on the big computer screen, but I'm learning. Next time this happens, I'll take the photos again :-)

Things With Wings - September at Stamping Sensations

This month at Stamping Sensations we are asking you to submit projects with the theme "Things with Wings". This can be anything you like, even fairies or angels, but I went with the obvious and chose birds and butterflies.

"Things With Wings"

The background is inked with my favourite subtle distress colours and overstamped using lots of different nature stamps and a grey archival ink.

 

"UTEE Bird"

The vintage graphics bird and butterfly are dipped in clear, melted UTEE before adhering to the card with Pinflair glue gel.

"Honeycomb die cut"

The honeycomb frame is cut (using the new Tim Holtz die) from old cardboard packaging, sanded and stained with metallic distress stain. Inner pieces are added from spare pieces of the background stamped card.

 

"It's the Little Things that Make Life BIG"

That is so true!

Well, that's my Stamping Sensations "Thing With Wings" Design Team piece for the month. I do hope you will visit the blog to see my team mates' creations, and enter our challenge. As always, we have a fantastic prize. This month, Crafty Devils are offering the winner a massive gift voucher to spend on anything in their store, so why not go have a browse and dream what you could spend the winnings on :-) Maddy x

Anything Goes in August at Stamping Sensations

"Anything Goes" this month, so I'm sharing something very different, a pair of altered shoes! I couldn't resist a pair of comfy Clarks shoes at a tenner in their sale, but I'm really not ready for beige shoes. They had a lovely nubuck finish which is just ideal for stamping on, so I got out my new birthday stamps from Crafty Individuals and set about changing the look...

"Altered Shoes"

There are lots more pictures to share!

 

Of course, shoes have to look like a matching pair, so I was careful to repeat the stamping on both shoes.

 

And again on the outside edges.

These tiny meadow stamps are just perfect for the velcro straps.

And a butterfly always makes a great focal point :-)

 

I used Ranger Archival ink for nice, crisp images that hopefully should resist the water (not that it rains in Ireland...)

 

...and stamped without using an acrylic block, just holding the stamp and pressing onto the shoe.

 

My Nan (you know, the one who was a cross between Nanny Ogg and Granny Weatherwax who alwyas said she wasn't superstitious) wouldn't let us put our shoes on the table because it was bad luck. I thought of her while I was taking the photographs!

Anyway, I hope you can join in with our challenge this month. You can share anything you like, as long as stamping is the main element. The winner will receive a fantastic prize from Tonic...

 

and

 

 

The newly released Twisted Twine 674e and 584e, together worth nearly forty pounds!

Love

I won this "Love" wooden blank from a blog challenge earlier in the year, but am posting it today to say a "Happy Anniversary" to my husband Tom. We have been married 25 years today, so are celebrating our silver wedding anniversary with a big party in the garden. Please keep you fingers crossed for us that we have good weather!

 

 

Shabby Chic Altered Mirror

I've been altering a lot of stuff lately instead of making cards. Don't know what has come over me! Anyway, this Ikea mirror has been in my stash for ages and I had a sudden inspiration on what I wanted to do with it.

 

First I covered parts of the mirror with net lace, sticking it on with Claudine Hellmuth Mat Multi-Medium.

 

Then I cut some of my favourite diecuts from white card and used them to make a scene. Once happy with the layout, I stuck those down too.

 

Next I covered the whole thing with a couple of coats of white gesso, added some flowers and clay embellishments, and picked out highlights with gold Pinflair Buff-it.

 

The final step is to add some colour by spraying with distress reinker diluted in mister pens. I used lots of Tattered Rose, Antique Linen , Tumbled Glass and Bundled Sage.

 

 

This last photograph gives you an idea of the dimension achieved at the bottom of the frame.

 

We've had some gorgeous weather here in Northern Ireland this week. Today is overcast and they are forecasting rain, but that's OK. The sun will come out again soon. Have a great weekend everyone. Maddy x